Chad Hoopes — Violin

Acclaimed worldwide for his exceptional artistry and radiant tone, Chad Hoopes has established himself as one of America’s leading violinists, performing with many of the world’s foremost orchestras and ensembles. Praised for his versatility and commanding presence on stage, Hoopes continues to captivate audiences across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Highlights of the 2024–25 season include Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse under Markus Poschner, Brahms’s Double Concerto with cellist Jan Vogler and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Berg’s Violin Concerto with the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra. He also appears at major festivals, including the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Seattle Chamber Music Society, and Music@Menlo.

Recent seasons have featured notable engagements such as Korngold’s Violin Concerto with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under Tarmo Peltokoski, as well as Tchaikovsky’s Concerto with the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker. Hoopes has also appeared with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the HR-Sinfonieorchester, and on tour with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

Other orchestral collaborations include performances with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Houston Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada. A frequent guest of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, where he holds the Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Chair, Hoopes has also been heard in recital at the Ravinia Festival, Moritzburg Festival, Tonhalle Zürich, the Louvre, and Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series. In May 2025, he made his debut at the Dresden Music Festival, performing with pianist Anton Mejias in a program exploring works under the theme of Liebe (Love).

Hoopes’s debut recording with the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra under Kristjan Järvi featured concertos by Mendelssohn and John Adams. Most recently, he appeared on a Sony Classical release of chamber works by Dvořák with Jan Vogler.

Born in Minneapolis, Hoopes began his violin studies locally before continuing at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He later studied at the Kronberg Academy with Professor Ana Chumachenco, who remains his mentor. He is a 2017 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, was featured on the cover of The Strad in November 2021, and currently serves as Professor of Violin at the SMU Meadows School of the Arts, where he is also in demand worldwide as a masterclass teacher.

Chad Hoopes performs on both the 1991 Samuel Zygmuntowicz “ex-Isaac Stern” violin and a 1766 G.B. Guadagnini.